A miraculous cancer cure may be on the horizon, thanks to a new needle that is “500 times thinner than a human hair”. This tiny needle, called a nanopipette, has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by enabling scientists to study how cells respond to treatment over time.
Currently, methods used on single cells usually damage them, making it possible to only observe them before and after treatment.
However, this new nanopipette allows scientists to take multiple samples from a living cell while it is undergoing treatment, without causing harm to the cell. By taking several samples over time, researchers can observe how the cells react to treatment.
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The innovative pipette consists of two very small needles – one to inject into the cancer cell and the other to extract from it simultaneously. This breakthrough technology has been used by scientists at the University of Leeds to study the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Dr Lucy Stead, Associate Professor of Brain Cancer Biology at Leeds’ School of Medicine, described the discoveries made using this technology as “a significant breakthrough”. She believes that this new understanding and insight will lead to the development of new weapons in the fight against all types of cancer.
“This type of technology is going to provide a layer of understanding that we have simply never had before and that new understanding and insight will lead to new weapons in our armoury against all types of cancer,” she said.
The team focused their research on studying glioblastoma (GBM), the deadliest form of brain tumour, due to its ability to adapt and survive treatments. The nanopipette, being too small for manual use, was manoeuvred into the cells using robotic software.
This allowed the scientists to repeatedly take samples and study the progression of the disease in individual cells.
Dr. Stead explained the urgency of finding new weapons against glioblastoma, stating that there has been no improvement in survival rates for this disease in the past 20 years.
She attributes this lack of progress to the highly “plastic” nature of these tumours, and their ability to adapt to treatment and survive it. Therefore, it is crucial to dynamically observe and characterize these cells as they change to find ways to stop them at every turn.
Dr Stead explained, “Glioblastoma is the cancer in most need of new weapons because in 20 years there has been no improvement in survival in this disease. It is lagging so much and we think that is because of the highly ‘plastic’ nature of these tumours and their ability to adapt to treatment and survive it.”
While the research has provided valuable information, Dr. Stead emphasized the need for further research and testing using this technology. The Brain Tumor Charity played a significant role in funding this research.
Glioblastoma cells often react differently to treatment compared to other cancers. They frequently develop resistance, leading to the recurrence of the cancer.
Dr Simon Newman, Chief Scientific Officer of The Brain Tumor Charity, explained that the development of this novel technology allows for the extraction of samples from tumour cells grown in the lab before and after treatment.
This unique insight into how drug resistance may develop and lead to tumour regrowth is crucial in developing strategies to prevent it.
Co-author Dr Paolo Actis, Associate Professor of Bio-Nanotechnology at Leeds’ School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, highlighted the importance of studying the cancer cells that survive chemotherapy.
These cells are the ones that contribute to the regrowth of the cancer and ultimately lead to death. The nanopipette can pinpoint these cells and perform biopsies on them, allowing for a specific study of how they have changed.
“The development of this novel technology, which can extract samples from tumour cells grown in the lab before and after treatment, will give a unique insight into how drug resistance may develop and lead to tumours growing back,” he said.
This cancer breakthrough knowledge is essential in developing drugs that can prevent these cells from adapting and regrowing.
“Our tool can pinpoint these cells and we can now perform biopsies on them so we can specifically study how the ones that survive treatment have changed,” he said. “This is crucially important as the more we can understand how the cells change, the more drugs we can develop to stop them from adapting.”
